Friday, May 25, 2007

As the train rides along the rails, going clickity – clack and blowing its horn, Daphne looks out the window in aw at the scenery rushing by in a blur. When the train slowed down as it approached each station stop Daphne would notice the little things she could not see in the blur of colors when the train was racing to the stop. When she seen a field with some flowers as the train slowed, she would ask “mommy, what type of flowers are those?” and “can we go and pick’em?” If her mom could see the flowers and knew the names of the flowers she would say “what a pretty sunflower” or “what a cute lily” but always “they are so pretty, I wish we could”.

Daphne also seen a few birds in the trees as they were pulling into each station stop and asked “mommy what type of birdie is that?” or “can we catch one?” her mom would say if she seen the bird before it flew off, “it’s a blue jay” or a “robin” and they even seen a couple crows that were making a big squawk over a piece of food at one stop.

With each station stop, Daphne would look around and watch the people boarding the train. As each person passed by she would attempt to say hi and managed to get a few smiles and even a couple pieces of candy and a lollypop or two. A few times she seen a few other kids her own age get on the train and tried to get them to play as they went by with no luck because their parents were trying to find their seats.

At each station stop, Daphne heard the conductor yell out “Tickets please have your tickets ready”. She decided she was going to ask him why he kept yelling out “Tickets please have your tickets ready” at the next station stop. So she waited as patiently as she could and when he passed by her and her mommy, she decided to tug on his coat.

Knowing that it was a little girl that tugged on his coat, he playfully acted as if he could not see her there and asked her mommy “are you the one who tugged on my coat?” she blushed and he asked in a very playful manner “are you sure you didn’t” and then said “I know it must have been you” looking at the young man across from them who was trying to keep from laughing because at that point the Daphne was trying to get his attention and half laughing. Then he looks down and said, “If it wasn’t those two, it must have been you since you’re the only other one here.”

The conductor got down on one knee and put his conductor’s hat on her head and asked “What is your name” and she replied in a loud squeaky voice “Daphne”. He then asked “Well Daphne, you look like you have a question you can’t wait to ask” and she blurted out “Why do you keep saying Tickets please have your tickets ready?” For which he replied “That is so I know where they are getting off and remind them if need be.” Then she asked “Why do you need to wear this hat?” and he replied “So everyone knows who is asking for their tickets and so they know who to go to for help.”

After the conductor left, Daphne tried to sit patiently for the next stop but being the normal rambunctious girl like most girls her age were, for what seemed like an eternity to her even though it was only a minute or two she got up and started walking up and down the isle between the seats that was almost a slight jog. After going up and down the isle a few times, taking in all of the faces, she decided to stop at other passengers that she thought looked friendly and asked “Ticket please” most of the other passengers that she asked looked at her and could not help but smile with a couple breaking out into laughter.

When she got to one passenger, and asked “Ticket please” the passenger smiled and asked “who might you be?” for which Daphne laughed and said “I am the conductor, see it says so on my hat”. Then the passenger opened up her bag, looked through it and then pulled something out. Before letting Daphne see what it was, she asked “are you sure you are the conductor?” for, which she said “yes I am” and “could I please see your ticket” as she was saying this the real conductor was walking up the isle behind her to retrieve his hat because the train was approaching the next station stop.

The passenger could see him coming up the isle and hesitated long enough to be in earshot of them and said “Here is my ticket” and handed her a one dollar bill and a couple pieces of salt water taffy. After she gave Daphne the dollar and the candy, the conductor said “Thank you for collecting the fare for me” when she heard him she jumped so high that everyone that seen it could not help but laugh and she turned beet red as the conductor asked “could I please have my hat back?” then slid it off of her head and thanked her for keeping it safe.

After the conductor put his hat back on and started walking, Daphne just stood there for a few seconds, slightly embarrassed and looking down at her feet then she turned and ran back to her mommy who then asked “did you have fun?” and already knew the answer just by the look on her face. “Daphne, come and sit down our stop is next” her mommy said as Daphne pouted and a little then plopped herself back in her seat by the window, and staring down at her feet for a few minutes. After getting over her pouting she went back to looking out the window again, with her face and hands pressed against it.

While Daphne was looking out the window, the train slowed and eventually came to a stop by a marshy area then the conductor came over the P.A. saying “sorry, about having to stop we have a red signal ahead that is letting the engineer know that there is another train up ahead and we will be moving shortly.” Daphne never took her eyes off of the window until she decided to ask “mommy, where are we?” and her mom looked out the window and said “we are in a marsh and if you look hard enough you might see a beaver’s home somewhere in there.”

Shortly after being told that, Daphne spotted a mound that was twice as high as the other mounds and looked as if someone had made it. She stared at it intently for a couple minutes and then seen a couple animals about the size of a small dog poke their heads out of the water and then climb up onto the top of the mound. Daphne then turned to her mom and asked “Are those the animals you were talking about mommy?” She looked over and said “Yes and look they have a little family of them climbing onto their home.” “That’s their home?” Daphne asked with her mom nodding yes at the question.

Shortly after that, the train started moving again, and Daphne was waving by to the beavers as if they could see her waving. After they were past the marsh, she slipped back into a sitting position and then slowly nodded off to sleep. Her mom let her sleep the rest of the way to their stop since it was going to be at least an hour to their stop. While she slept, the conductor passed by and stopped briefly to ask “I see you are finally getting some rest” and she nodded saying “Thank you for taking time to answer her questions earlier” for which he responded “No problem, I am use to those types of questions.”

When the train slowed down so they could pull into the station stop, Daphne’s mom woke her up telling her “Daphne, wake up we are at our stop and daddy will be waiting for us.” With that she picked Daphne up and carried her where there was a line of passengers waiting to get off. When they got to the vestibule of the train Daphne’s mom put her down and then they walked off of the train. As Daphne walked onto the platform, she ran over to the conductor, hugged him and thanked him. After that she walked away waving at him until she seen her dad and ran up to him and jumped into his arms.

When they were done hugging, her dad put his hand out for her to hold and they walked to the car as she grabbed his hand and started telling him her adventure on the train, leaving no detail out with him going between saying “wow”, “that’s nice” , “you seen that?” and “you did that?”

In this time of great turmoil and self indulgence,We are shown images that are very biased to make it look like we are losing ourselves and our, faith in others.

As time goes by the stories that go along with the images we see,Are almost always stories that provoke a feeling of dread in our society,That is unrelenting but for a few stories.

In today’s society our faith is constantly tested and re-tested in many ways.Our faith is tested sometimes in ways that we do not understand until weSee the aftereffects of the test of faith.When we are down on ourselves and faith is hard to come by,It isn’t easy to see those things that could or would renew our faith.It is also the one time that our faith shows what it teaches,Humility to those who had none.

Faith is renewed in many ways, sometimes it’s as simple as a helping hand orSeeing the unwavering faith that a child has in their parents and the parents faithTo do what they believe is right for their children.

Renewed faith for people who have religious beliefs, may come when they open theirEyes and see others in their belief structure doing things that many others mayNot want to do to help others regardless of the deeds or beliefs of the personThat they are helping.

Sometimes renewed faith comes around holidays regardless of the individual’s beliefsCountry of origin or chosen nationality.

In the end renewed faith comes when we find the strength to stand up for what weBelieve in, regardless of the personal costs and then feeling satisfied knowingThat you made a difference that could benefit someone who needs help or needs theirOwn faith renewed by someone who’s been there.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Freedom is the ability to stand up for what you believe in no matterWhat anyone else says or does to dissuade you.

Freedom is the right to live with dignity without beingForced to live in fear of discourse.

Freedom almost never comes without a high priceThat sometimes gets forgotten over time.

We cannot begin to fathom what some people have gone through to giveOr preserve the freedom in which we take for granted.

If we lose sight of our freedoms we lose sight of why we paid the price we didAnd in doing so we turn our backs on the people who paid theUltimate price for our freedom.

If we turn our backs on our freedoms and those things that we holdSacred we lose who we are and who we hope to become.

Those of us who through a selfless act gave us gave us the freedoms we share,Should be revered, remembered and shown that for the price they paid is the fuelThat fuels an eternal flame that we call freedom that can never beExtinguished ever.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

We can never fully understand the horrors of war in the way our soldiers and Our veterans will understand them.

We will never know the hardships that they have suffered along the way in The great many battles that they were witness too.

We cannot comprehend the mental anguish that they suffered and still live with From all the bloodshed and death that they have seen and will never forget.

We can be there for our veterans when they need a friendly face and an open ear.

We need to be there to listen to what our veterans have to say on the horrors, That they have witnessed.

We need to learn not to repeat the mistakes from the past that caused those horrors So we will not need to have others bear witness to those horrors.

We can never let ourselves forget what has been lost to us due to the horrors of war and Always remember the sacrifices of our soldiers, our veterans and the people, whom Supported them especially the ones that sacrificed the most during times of war.

I may not be able to lend direct support to our soldiers over on the battlefield.

But I can show support and solidarity to our soldiers and war veterans by keeping the principles and the ideals that this country was founded on in my heart.

I can show our soldiers and our war veterans that their efforts are not in vain, by doing my best to make sure that the principles and ideals that this country was founded on are kept alive and held in high regard even amidst oppression and tyranny that some people would have us tolerate and accept as the norm.I may not be able to lead this country effectively but I can lead by example.

I can show support to my fellow countrymen and women by doing my personal best to live up to and to teach the principles and the ideals that were set fourth by the founding fathers of this country of ours. For if we forget where we came from, we forget who we are and what our country stands for.

I will when I can stand up and show my fellow countrymen and women that the principles and ideals set fourth by the founding fathers of our country were not set fourth in vain by giving everyone the respect that they deserve.

I will also honor the decisions and choices that everyone makes and will respectful in the way I present any criticism that I may have.

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About Me

I tend to be vocal about issues that I find I have a problem with and normally try to state my point with out any derogatory commentary if I can help it. I am always thinking and tend to be some of what of a work-a-holic and willing to do almost anything for a friend.